Bitter Cold
by Ice Inferno
Summary: A year after the Promised Day, Al is captured by Drachman forces. Ed immediately sets out to save him, but Equivalent Exchange says that nothing can be gained without losing something first, and to gain Al's freedom, Ed must give up his own. Elric brotherly love, Parental! RoyEd, and Edwin. (eventually)
1. Leaving for Drachma

_What could that idiot Colonel possibly want now?_

He had called Ed all the way from Central, saying that he needed to come immediately. The infuriating thing was that Mustang claimed it was too dangerous to talk about it over the phone, and Ed would have to wait until he arrived to find out what it was. Ed just hoped it was worth it. The trip from Resembool to Central was long and boring, and Winry always got anxious when he left.

Plus, since Ed wasn't a State Alchemist anymore, there was no reason for him to get called in. After the Promised Day, Ed had lost his ability to perform alchemy, and seeing as his brother, Alphonse, had restored his body, Ed didn't have any reason to continue serving the military. Ed still missed doing alchemy, but giving it up was a small price to pay to get his brother back.

After a long, boring, and uneventful train ride, Ed arrived at Central Command. He sat in the hallway outside Mustang's office, waiting to get called in. _Seriously, it's like that dumb man is trying to keep me waiting! _Ed thought to himself.

Suddenly he spotted a familiar face walking by. "Hey, Lieutenant Hawkeye!" he said, running over to the blond woman.

She blinked in surprise. "Edward! I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"

"Fine. How have things been over here? What's the Colonel been up to?"

"Haven't you heard?" Hawkeye asked. Edward shook his head. "Colonel Mustang has been promoted. He's now General, and a prime candidate for the next Führer, once Grumman decides to step down."

"Ugh. Great. Just another thing to boost his ego," Ed muttered.

Hawkeye smiled. "He should be ready to see you in a moment."

"Do you have any idea why he called me here?"

She shook her head. "He said it was classified until further notice."

"Thanks anyways," Ed said. At that moment, the door of Mustang's office opened and a man walked out.

"Excuse me, are you Edward Elric?" he asked.

"Yep, that's me. The hero who saved Amestris," he said, pointing to himself and grinning ridiculously.

"Uh, ok, sir, General Mustang is ready to see you now."

"Well, it was nice seeing you, but I think I'd better be going now." Hawkeye said as she turned and walked away.

Edward waved goodbye and entered Mustang's office.

"Ah, Fullmetal, you've finally arrived," Mustang said. Ed couldn't help thinking to himself what a familiar scene this was: the sunlight streaming in through the large windows behind the desk, piles of paperwork lying around, probably never to be done, and Mustang lounging in his chair with that sickeningly stupid smirk. Ed had been in here so many times when he was looking for the Philosopher's Stone that he could recognize every detail, but it was strange seeing the room with a two real arms instead of a metal one, and without a suit of armor sitting by him.

"I've been here forever, Colonel Bastard. Or is it General? Congratulations, you're an even bigger bastard now," Ed said as he sat in a chair facing Mustang. Aside from the two of them, the room was empty.

"Now, now, is that any way to talk to your superiors?" Mustang asked teasingly.

"In case you've forgotten, you aren't my commanding officer anymore. And you were never superior than me. Now cut to the chase. Why'd you call me here?"

Mustang smile melted into a frown. "Ah, yes. Well, as you know, Drachma, the huge country to the north, has never had a very good relationship with Amestris. About a year ago, they tried to assault Briggs, but they failed. Since then, they haven't been very active. But recently, soldiers in the north have been disappearing, and Drachma is suspected to be responsible. The public hasn't been notified yet, as we aren't sure of what is happening, and we don't want anyone panicking. Soldiers and State Alchemists from Central were sent in as reinforcements and investigators, but they haven't found any leads, and some of them are starting to disappear too."

He paused, looking at Edward to see his reaction. "What does this have to do with me?" Ed asked. "I'm not a State Alchemist anymore."

Mustang sighed. "No, you're not, but your brother is. Alphonse was sent in to investigate the disappearance of the soldiers in the north a couple of days ago, and he hasn't been seen or heard from since."

Ed felt like a cold fist was squeezing his heart. After Edward had lost his alchemic powers, Alphonse had decided to become a State Alchemist in his place. Ed had been against it, but Al had joined the military anyways, believing that with the homunculi no longer corrupting the government, they could actually do good for the people. Ed cursed his brother's naïvety.

"Are you saying... Are you saying my brother is missing?" Edward asked, gritting his teeth.

Mustang closed his eyes. "It seems so."

Ed slammed his fist on the desk. "That _idiot!_ I told him not to join the military, but he didn't listen!"

"Fullmetal, calm down—" Mustang started, but was interrupted by Ed.

"How can you expect me to calm down?!" he yelled. "That's my little brother! He could be in prison, or tortured, or _dead! _And you're just sitting there, acting like its no big deal?!"

"Fullmetal, that's enough," Mustang said firmly. "I didn't tell you this so you could yell about it. I told you so that you could find him yourself."

Ed was momentarily stunned. "You want me to go find him? All by myself?"

"What, are you scared to?" Mustang asked him.

"Hell, no!" Ed said angrily. "It's just that... Normally you wouldn't be telling me to do something so reckless."

"True enough," Mustang admitted. "But I know well enough that I can't stop you. And maybe you'd have better luck than all the other soldiers. You always manage to do impossible things somehow."

Mustang opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. He held it out to Ed. "This envelope contains everything you need to get to Briggs. If you leave now, you could probably get there by tomorrow morning. You'll have to find the Drachman hideout from there."

Ed accepted the envelope. He stood up and headed to the door. It wasn't until he had his hand on the doorknob before he muttered, "Thanks." Then he walked out into the hallway and headed for the nearest train station.

_I_ _swear I'm going to find those Drachman bastards, _he thought_. I'll save Al, then I'm going to kick their asses!_

* * *

**Author's Note: So that's all for chapter one, pretty uneventful, but I'll update soon! It will get more interesting (I hope). Reviews are always appreciated, and sorry if anything seems OOC or incorrect according to the anime/manga, that's all accidental. Ciao!**

**~Ice Inferno**


	2. Searching for New Information

Ed really hated the cold. Unfortunately, the North was freezing.

He had taken a train to North City and hadn't arrived until early morning. The sky was a dreary, grayish color, and there was so much fog that it was hard to see a few feet in front of him. It was snowing lightly, but it looked like it would get worse as time went on. Anybody with sense would be inside. Not Ed, though. He had a job to do.

Now he was riding in the back of a cart being pulled by a man on a horse, whom he recognized from the first time he went to Briggs. Ed yawned and pulled his coat more tightly towards his body. He was anxious to reach Briggs and find his way to Alphonse, but he knew he couldn't rush things.

After what felt like an eternity, the driver stopped at a path that led to Briggs. As Ed hopped off the cart, the man looked at him and said, "I recognize you from a long time ago. You have automail, right?"

"Yes," Ed told him.

"You'd better hurry, then," the man said. "If you don't, you'll die."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. I'll get frostbite from my automail and be killed by the military and captured by Drachma and a bunch of other stuff, blah, blah, blah, whatever, I don't care." With that, he turned and walked down the road to Briggs. Maybe he'd been rude, but Ed wasn't in the best of moods right now, and he didn't need any reminders that his death was likely.

Ed trudged through the snow. It was beginning to snow harder, making it even more difficult to see and move. His left leg ached from the bad weather, but he didn't slow down. He just kept pushing himself forward, oblivious to pain or fatigue. All he knew was that somewhere past the never-ending whiteness was his little brother.

After about an hour of walking, Ed started to get worried. Was he lost? Did he leave the path? That would have been terrible. Luckily, he soon spotted Fort Briggs and ran there as fast as he could.

"Halt!" someone yelled. Ed froze and turned to see a soldier pointing a gun at him. "Who are you? What is your business here?"

Ed raised his hands in the air and said, as officially as he could, "My name is Edward Elric. I was sent here by General Mustang to investigate the disappearance of some soldiers. I need to talk to General Armstrong, or another one of the higher-ups."

The soldier didn't lower his weapon. "Are you a Drachman spy?"

"No, I'm not!" Edward said indignantly. _Why do the people here always assume that? I thought I cleared this up the last time I was here!_

The soldier wasn't convinced. "You'll have to come with me." He walked closer to Ed and started to guide him forward, keeping the gun held against his back. Ed suppressed a sigh and marched.

* * *

"...so I found him outside the wall, all by himself. He seems pretty suspicious to me," the soldier was telling his friend.

The other man looked at Ed. "Hmm, you're right, he does look pretty suspicious. Probably a Drachman spy."

"You people are all idiots," Ed said.

He had been taken inside the fort, tied up, and put into a jail cell. _Just like old times, _he thought bitterly. Now he was stuck waiting for General Armstrong to come clear things up and let him go, though Ed knew from his experience with her that it wasn't likely to go smoothly.

"What's going on here?" a demanding female voice barked. "Did you catch an intruder?" The speaker walked in front of Ed's cell, revealing that it was none other than Olivier Mira Armstrong. The two soldiers saluted her.

She gave them a cold look, although that was normal for her. Then she looked at Edward and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I just came to help find the missing soldiers, but these idiots here put me in a cell," he said, pointing his thumb at the two men.

Olivier glared at the soldiers. "Did you imbeciles really call me here so you could show me a little boy? We have serious issues to deal with, and the best you can do is capture a child, who also happens to be our ally? _Pathetic! _You are a disgrace to the name of Briggs soldiers! Now, _get out of here, you miserable weaklings!_"

The two men muttered apologies and ran out of there as fast as they could. She whirled around and faced Ed, growling. He yelped. She reminded Ed of a wild bear when she got like that. The woman was so scary that he couldn't even get mad about the 'little boy' comment.

"Gah!" Olivier yelled, fuming. "Look at what we've come to! Since Buccaneer died and Miles left to fix things with Ishval, we've fallen apart! And now some of my best men are disappearing because of those damn Drachmans. As well as that, ever since Central decided to 'help' us, a bunch of weak, idiotic morons who can't even call themselves true soldiers are camping out in _my _castle, being no help whatsoever! They don't deserve to survive out here, they're too weak! Now I'm stuck babysitting these pathetic lowlifes every day instead of going out there myself and beating the crap out of Drachma for messing with me!"

She paused, taking deep breaths. Ed took this as a chance for an opening. "Uh, that seems really terrible and all, but I'm here to help you out. And I'm also hoping you can help me."

Olivier narrowed her eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"My brother, Alphonse, disappeared. He was sent up here to help you, and he hasn't been heard from since. So I was wondering if you know anything about it."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Edward, but I don't know anything about the Drachmans' plans, or how people keep disappearing. All I know is that anyone who tries to investigate vanishes without a trace."

"Oh," Edward said, slightly crestfallen. "Is there anyone else around here who might know something?"

"We recently captured a Drachman spy, but he refuses to talk. He probably knows something, though. It won't be too long until I can _pound_ some answers out of him," Olivier said.

Edward grabbed the bars of his cell. "Can you take me to him?"

* * *

Alphonse sat in the freezing cell, shivering. He was cold and hungry, and hadn't had food in about a day. He was also extremely bored. His only source of entertainment was the dripping from the ceiling.

He heard footsteps outside his door. Alphonse perked up, hoping it was someone delivering food for him, but when the door opened, he saw that the man was not carrying any food. He had short, dark hair and black eyes that held no warmth. He was dressed in a military uniform, but it was not the uniform of Amestris. For some reason, when Alphonse looked at this man, he felt a sense of terror.

"Who are you?" Alphonse asked in a small voice.

"That is none of your concern," he said. He had a heavy accent that made it a bit difficult to understand him. "Come with me."

Alphonse obliged. He knew better than to start a fight. The moment he stepped out of the cell, someone forcefully grabbed him and tied a blindfold over his eyes. He made a sound protest, only to get a hard blow to his head.

"Shut up," a new voice said, deeper than the first. "I don't wanna hear your whining. Just do as we say and you won't get hurt."

Al felt dizzy from the hit. They made him walk blindly, forcing him to trust the men who had abducted him. Even though nobody talked, Al could tell there were multiple people surrounding him from the sound of footsteps and the rough hands grabbing his arms.

They walked down many halls. Alphonse tried to memorize the turns and number of steps, but it was too difficult. He might as well have been walking through a labyrinth. They finally reached a room that seemed even colder than the hallways. Though Al couldn't see, he had a bad feeling about the place. It smelled like misery.

He was forced to lay on a table. They bound him to it with metal bands, and didn't bother removing the blindfold. Alphonse struggled, but the restraints were too tight.

"Now," a voice said. Al recognized it as the man with dark hair. "We know you work for the Amestrain military. Tell us all their secret information. When are they planning on attacking us?"

"I-I don't know. They didn't tell me anything about attacking..." Alphonse said.

"I don't believe you. Go ahead, Danshov." A man grunted. Alphonse felt a sudden and extreme pain around his stomach, as if someone had beat him with a metal bat. He yelled in pain, only to be hit again.

"That's enough," the man with dark hair said. "Now, I'll ask you again. When is your military attacking us?"

"I... I have no idea. Please... I'm telling the truth," Al said, wincing in pain. He screamed again as the bat hit him again, this time on his chest. He gasped as he felt a rib break.

"Stop lying," the man said. "You will only make it worse for yourself."

"I'm not lying," Alphonse said. He was beaten again. He felt another rib break. His chest erupted in pain, and he started screaming, a sound of pure despair. Al's eyes started to fill with tears.

"Please... please," Al begged. "I don't know anything, just let me go!" As expected, he was hit with the bat once more.

It continued on like this for some time, with Al being asked questions he didn't know the answer to, and him getting punished for it. The pain made Al want to pass out, but his torturers made sure that he didn't.

_Please, _he thought as the torture continued,_ Please... just make it stop. I know I've done bad things in the past, but I've made up for it by doing good. I don't... I don't deserve this! I've already lived through hell once! Am I going to have to live my whole life this way? Someone... Anyone, please... Help me. Make it stop. Set me free... and make it stop._

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh no, poor Al! What kind of evil, horrible, despicable person would make him go through so much pain? ...Oh wait a moment...**

**I managed to upload this sooner than I thought I would. Maybe I can continue with this trend and update tomorrow, but maybe not. Leave a review if you like this story, and also leave a review if you don't! Any suggestions are helpful, just don't be too critical. ¡Adios!**

**~Ice Inferno**


	3. The Child Spy

Olivier and Edward walked through Fort Briggs to the Eastern Cell Block where the spy was being held. As Ed looked around the fort, he couldn't help noticing the lack of people. He only saw a few military personnel. Fort Briggs seemed too quiet. _Maybe more people have disappeared than they let on, _Ed thought.

The snowstorm outside was picking up. Although Ed couldn't see it, he could hear the wind howling. He hoped it died down soon, as he worried it could interfere with his finding Alphonse.

"Here we are," Olivier said, stopping in front of a cell.

Ed looked through the bars and got a shock. The person in there looked as if he was only a teenager. He had pale skin and a small build. His eyes were a strange shade of gray and he had a thin face. His chestnut-colored hair stuck up in little spikes. His clothes were all black, probably for stealth.

"This is the spy?" Ed asked.

"Yes. We found him passed out in the snow, with credentials proving he worked for the Drachman military," Olivier said.

He didn't look like an evil spy. If Ed had to guess, he would say the boy looked like he was younger than Alphonse, like an innocent child. Seeing him there, stuck behind bars, made Ed feel bad for the Drachman.

_Stop that,_ he thought._ Don't pity him, he's the reason Al's not here. He's working for the people that took him._

"Right," Edward said, looking the boy straight in the eyes, "You're going to tell us everything you know, then take us to wherever you're keeping Alphonse and the other prisoners."

"Why would I do that?" The spy said, sneering at Edward.

"Because you don't have any other options," Olivier said. "You're our prisoner, and as long as I'm in charge here, you're going to do what I say, _understood?_"

He gave her a sly smile. Despite being trapped in a cell, he seemed pretty nonchalant. "Sorry, lady, but you're never gonna make me talk. You can threaten me all you want, but I'd die before I gave away any secrets."

Olivier snarled. She started to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden yell: "EDWARD ELRIC!"

Out of nowhere, Alex Louis Armstrong popped up, all seven feet of him. He grabbed Ed and pulled him into a crushing hug.

"_You poor boy! You and your brother have gone through so much, and finally got your bodies back, to only be torn away from each other once more! You two deserve to be together! IT'S SO TRAGIC!" _Alex boomed, tears streaming down his face as Edward struggled to escape his grip, cursing creatively.

Ed eventually managed to free himself. He stood there, gasping for breath. At least Alex had kept his shirt on.

"Alex, you pathetic idiot, what are you doing?! We're interrogating a prisoner here!" Olivier said.

"Dear sister, the moment I heard Edward Elric was here, I had to come! It is just so sad that his brother is missing! IT MAKES ME CRY EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT!"

Olivier scowled at him. "Sniveling baby."

"Hold on a moment," the spy said. Everyone turned to look at him. "You're Edward Elric? The Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Er... Yeah, I guess," Edward said, not bothering to explain that he couldn't do alchemy anymore. Better to not give away too much information.

"And your brother is Alphonse Elric..." the spy thought about that for a moment. "Alright. I'll help you. I know where he is."

"What?" Ed asked, not sure he heard correctly. "You're going to help me?"

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Olivier asked.

"Um... Well I-I know your story and all the stuff you went through. You and your brother, I mean. And... I can relate. My brother died when I was younger, and my leg..." He lifted up his right pant leg to show that it was made of metal.

"Oh," Ed said. "Sorry." He knew that it was a weak response, but what was he supposed to say? He had already decided not to pity the kid, but knowing that there was someone else who had gone through the same pain he had was just too much. Nobody deserved a life like that.

"So you're an alchemist?" Ed asked. The spy nodded. "And you committed the ultimate sin..."

He didn't say anything. They all were silent for a moment until Olivier grabbed Ed's arm. "Can we talk about this for a moment?"

She, Ed, and Alex moved out of earshot from the spy. "Edward, are you sure you trust this boy? I think he's lying about why he wants to help you."

Ed thought so too, but he didn't say so. "Look," he said, "right now he's our best lead to finding Alphonse. I don't want to do this, but I don't have any other option."

"He's a Drachman spy. He's working for the enemy, and he will betray you, it's bound to happen," Olivier said.

"I know that, but I have to do this."

She sighed in defeat. "Fine, but I'm going to keep a close eye on him."

"Don't worry, sister. I will make sure he does no harm to you," Alex said.

"_I don't need your protection!_"

They went back to the cell. Olivier took out a key. "Listen up, maggot," she said. "I am going to let you out. In exchange, you will bring us to where Drachma is keeping the prisoners. If you try to run, use alchemy, resist us, or help the Drachmans, I will not hesitate to kill you, understood?"

"Sure," he said. "And if I help you, you'll let me go?"

"I won't make any promises." She unlocked the cell and let him out. Ed tensed, expecting him to attack, but he simply stretched and yawned.

"So are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Edward said, but Alex stopped him.

"Hold on, Edward. Don't you need Northern automail?"

"Nah, I'm good," Ed replied. He was anxious to get going and find Alphonse, and didn't want to waste time with automail. "I'll be fine. I'll just find Alphonse and go. It'll be quick."

"Don't be foolish! You need to fix your automail," Alex told him. "You could get into trouble if you don't."

Edward sighed in exasperation. "Look, there just isn't enough time! We have to find Alphonse as soon as possible. I'm not going to delay us for no reason."

Alex closed his eyes and let out a breath. "Edward Elric, your stubbornness will get you into trouble one day, but I can see there is no persuading you. If you insist on leaving now, then so be it."

Olivier looked at the spy. "So how do we get there?"

"There's a series of underground tunnels under Fort Briggs we used to kidnap the soldiers. We can go through there to reach the jail."

Olivier stared at him with a shocked look on her face. "Wait, this whole time you've been underneath us, and I didn't know? Dammit, I don't believe this..."

"Don't blame yourself, Olivier," Alex said to her. "You couldn't have done anything about it."

"I could have," she murmured. "Briggs used to be impenetrable. Now, I think I'm losing my touch. It might be better if I retired..."

"Don't even say that! You're the best leader Briggs has ever had!"

"Not anymore," Olivier sighed. "That's not of importance now. Let's find Alphonse and the missing soldiers."

"This way," the spy said. He led them down a series of hallways, not making a single wrong turn, until they ended up in a basement. He lifted up a loose floorboard, revealing a ladder leading downwards.

"How do you know your way around here so well? It's like you've memorized Fort Briggs." Ed asked.

The spy turned back and looked at him, giving a knowing smile. "I already told you I wouldn't tell any of my country's secrets. I told you about the tunnels. That should be enough."

"Fair enough," Ed replied. "One more question."

The two boys locked eyes. "What's your name?" Ed asked.

The spy laughed. "If I told you that, I'd be betraying my country. Just know that it's something that has to be kept secret."

With that, he climbed down the ladder.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hmm, felt like this chapter was just a bunch of filler. Oh well, the next chapter will be better. ;)**

**Thank you to all the people who have left reviews, I really appreciate it! I'm probably gonna update less frequently now that my spring break is over. (#schoolsucks) :P**

**Happy Late Easter!**

**~ Ice Inferno**


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